


Limitless

by missema



Series: Kirkwall Tech [16]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blackmail, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), Kirkwall Tech, Modern Kirkwall (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 06:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missema/pseuds/missema
Summary: Melissa is excited -- for once in her life she's got money for the holidays -- until her mother calls about an eviction notice. With Sebastian at her side, she can solve the problem, but they've got more to deal with than just past due rent.





	Limitless

She had money in her bank account, more money than she could remember having in a very long time, and Melissa didn't have to worry about bills. It was a very new and completely welcome feeling, though it was still so alien of a concept Melissa struggled with it. She had money to save, that wasn't earmarked for future or past due bills or emergencies. It was such a strange thing to feel secure, to not have some niggling worry or fear drawing her to distraction.

In fact, she didn't have to worry about much of anything these days, outside of school, and even that wasn't much this last year. Satinalia break was coming up, and she a heady excitement bubbled through her at the thought of getting everyone the traditional week of gifts for the holiday. Maker and Andraste, for the first time in her life, she was going to be able to give the seven gifts of Satinalia to her mother, her siblings, her boyfriend.

Not Gamlen. He was still in prison anyway, but she definitely wasn't going to be sending him a weeks worth of presents that he could barter away for whatever vices he deemed necessary behind bars.

But Isabela definitely deserved a gift, as did Varric, and maybe she'd send one to Aveline too. Melissa frowned absently thinking of the lapsed communication between her and Aveline. They should talk more, but it seemed like something always got in the way. Aveline was a good sort, and that was why she'd stayed away when she'd become a guard and Melissa was still working for Athenril. Every good guard or cop knew about the concept of not ratting out the people you know break the law, but you know them too well for a little thing like the law to come between you. Call it old friends, mates or whatever, but she and Aveline had enough of a past that she never feared getting arrested for the little stuff.

There were a few times that she and Bela had pissed off Aveline and been drunk enough to get put in the tank, but she could count those on one hand. Honestly, she thought Aveline was more annoyed with Isabela than her, and she just got swept up by proximity. Hawke was thinking about that past, those weeks after she and Isabela had become fast friends, when her phone rang, breaking into her holiday plans.

Leandra was crying when Melissa picked up the phone. She knew it was her mother even before she'd said hello. She'd heard her cry enough times to know the sound of it. Panic flooded her, but Melissa, after her years of practice with her mother's depression, knew to keep calm. What was going on? What had her sobbing like this? The sound of her pitiful crying brought back the memories of the hardest and worst nights, not just after Father died, but just before.

"Mother? Mama?" Melissa asked. She waited another beat, heard Leandra draw in a deep breath and blow it back out, pulling herself together.

"Melissa, I hate to bother you," Leandra began. Melissa heard her breath catch, as if she were going to start crying again, and made to stop her by asking her question before her mother got going again.

"It's no bother, mama. What's wrong?" she asked.

She tried to soothe with her voice, just as she had during the really bad years, the times when her mother couldn't help but cry. This almost sounded like that, almost; even if it wasn't that, it was too reminiscent for Melissa's liking. Part of her wondered if her mother had been able to get her medication, if it was still helping, was it causing her any side effects or anything else she should know about. This wasn't the time to ask, but she should, soon.

"They're going to kick us out of the apartment. Bethany and I have some savings, but not very much. We can't get a new place yet, and I had hoped the Viscount would let us have some kind of temporary lodging on the Amell estate grounds, but he never responded to my petition to stay there while restoration was underway."

"That's not starting until after the new year," Melissa reminded her, and then mentally slapped herself for missing the point. "But who's going to kick you out? What happened?"

"The landlord, that man Sam, he said there was no rent being paid on the apartment. I told him that Gamlen had paid it, and that little rat said it didn't matter what Gamlen paid because he isn't living here now, and that Bethany and I were behind. That can't be right, can it?" She could hear the panic beginning to rise again in her mother's voice, turning the lilting end syllable of her question into a high-pitched whine.

"Is he there now?"

"In the apartment? No. I called him after he put an eviction notice on the door this morning. What are we doing to do? I haven't even told Bethany yet, she's still at work."

"Don't lose your head, Mother. I'll take care of it. No one's going anywhere. I'll get Sebastian to take me to see Sam this afternoon. Don't tell Beth, and don't panic."

With an effort that Melissa could hear over the phone, Leandra steadied herself. Deep, calming breaths brought her mother back to herself. This time when she spoke, her voice was clear of the tears that had thickened the mangled Kirkwaller in Ferelden that mashed up in her accent. "Right, of course. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, I don't think so. The rent should be taken care of, because legally, you are on the lease, and it was paid." Melissa looked skyward, hoping Andraste and the Maker would forgive her these lies. She hadn't paid the rent. She hadn't thought she needed to because of Gamlen. He told her what she could do if it came to it. "Let me take Sebastian, he's good at talking to people. We'll go by this afternoon."

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Thank you both, darling. You are my sweet Maker-sent gift of an eldest girl. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Mama, stop." Melissa felt the unwarranted smile come to her lips at her mother's praise. If only she'd earned it. "I'll stop by later. I love you. Don't worry," Melissa said, accepted her mother's love in return and hung up.

"Hi baby," she said as Sebastian picked up the phone. She heard him freeze, his tension near palpable, even over the phone.

He was only ever 'baby' when she needed something, a small joke between the two of them. It was as if she could see him, knew that his body had paused in anticipation of her explanation in the middle of whatever it was he was doing. She hoped he was out with some important KSE alumni donor, drinking coffee, the cup half-way to his mouth when he absently excused himself to pick up her call. It was more poetic that way, but Melissa knew he was most likely in his sweats, laying in his bed shirtless, doing whatever it was he did on Saturday mornings when they weren't together. Probably sleeping until he went to the Chantry, or rounding up their pledges for some activity.

"Melissa, are you all right?" he asked in a whisper and she couldn't help but huff out a dry chuckle. She heard noise around him she could't place, more voices than there would be at the house. Definitely wasn't at home shirtless in bed.

"I am a little upset, but that's immaterial. I need you to come with me to intimidate a man that deserves a beating, so is actually getting off lightly with a little intimidation. Soonish. Preferably in an hour."

"Ah. Who's the lucky man?"

"Gamlen's landlord."

"So no need to ask why he deserves such treatment. Give me an hour and a half, if that's okay. I'm in the middle of something I need to finish first, but then I'm yours all day after that."

"I thought you were mine all the time?" Melissa asked, a smile finally breaking through on her face and in her voice.

"Oh, you know I am," he said, and she heard his voice lighten as well, lilting gently on the words.

"Are you?" she teased.

"If I were there, I'd definitely answer that thoroughly right now. But sadly, you'll have to wait until I'm back in the city," Sebastian said. His voice had lowered and she could feel him turning away from whomever he was with. She could hear noise in the background of his call, ambient voices overlapping, the clink and crash of glass and silverware.

"You're not in Kirkwall?" she asked, astonished. He hadn't told her he was leaving, but last night she'd been out with Isabela, and he'd had KSE duties to attend, so they hadn't talked.

"I'll pick you up in an hour and a half," he said again, affirming that he wasn't in the city. She kissed her teeth to show her displeasure but didn't argue with him. He wouldn't answer her anyway, not that it bothered her. Sebastian would tell her when he saw her, and any explanation now would delay his arrival.

"I love you, Lissa. I'll see you soon," he said.

"I love you too," she said, and hung up. It still gave her a giddy thrill whenever she heard Sebastian say that he loved her. It was so new, so wonderful, and that shattered the hold of her anger for just a moment. Melissa sat dazedly and then pushed the sentiment out of her mind by turning towards her desk, looking at the pile of books on it. She'd planned to finish up some work for a class this morning, then go work out, but this wasn't the time for her homework.

Now she had to put on her armor.

#

It was sparkling and icy cold, the sun shining down on bare, frigid streets that were mercifully free of snow. It was the only thing that allowed up to get back into the city and over to her apartment within his hour and a half window. When he pulled up outside, Melissa was dressed in all black. She didn't normally wear all of any color, and the last time he'd seen her in all black was during the summer, when she had to wear suits to work. If he recalled correctly, she didn't even have a little black dress, but now that he realized it, he'd definitely encourage her to get one.

No, she didn't normally dress in all black, or straighten her hair the way she had the day of his formal. Over a neat black blouse and wide-legged trousers, she wore red. Her hands fumbled at the big buttons on her coat as she approached his car, and he watched her as the sunlight glinted off the obsidian of her hair. She was wearing a crimson coat he hadn't seen her in before, and was carrying a matching red handbag, and her lipstick matched all of them. When she put on her sunglasses, she was hard, unknowable. She looked formidable, and polished in a way he hadn't seen her before, not even when she was working over the summer. She kissed him, hard, when she got into the car and slammed the door behind her.

Suddenly, he was glad he was still wearing his suit from his impromptu breakfast. Even if it wasn't quite the equal of her in black and crimson, he still hoped he looked impressive.

"You look nice," he said, and her smile was genuine, but stony at his compliment.

"As do you." He nodded, but she didn't ask more about why he was wearing the suit. It was a conversation for later, he supposed, and she was intent on things other than listening to him.

"It was Grandmother Amell's," she said when he pointed at the purse. He waited for her to put her seatbelt on and she elaborated. "That bitch had a vault and it wasn't full of money or even her good jewels, or even family mementos, but fur coats and purses."

He had to laugh at the bitterness in her voice. It was all too common that nobles would store fashion in secure vaults instead of actual riches or important documents. "So I take it the restoration of your ancestral home is ongoing?"

"No. It's not even really started, but I told you Mother and Bethany went over there last week. This is what they found. I let Bethany take the only piece of jewelry, which was the wedding band that my grandfather had made for her when they married. According to Mother it didn't fit at the wedding and she wore it then but took it off and put it away. And my grandmother, being a practical and resourceful woman just got a new ring made."

"It fit Bethany?" he asked, stealing a look at her while the car was still parked. Lissa was pretty all the time, but as she talked she moved her small hands, fluttering like birds and he had to resist the urge to take them in his and kiss her palms until she smiled.

Her smile did things to him, especially whenever she wore lipstick. It didn't matter the color, although he was partial to this shade of deep red she was wearing today. She didn't normally wear red, more browns or sometimes a dark purple color that he liked as well.

But red, the color did things for her.

"It was too big for grandmother," she said, explaining about the wedding ring. "Apparently she was built more like me than Mother and Bethany, so I can see how it would be too big." She held up her hand and waggled her gloved fingers in his face. "I've small hands."

"I had noticed," he said, and pulled one to his mouth to kiss the palm, as he'd wanted to do before. "But her furs were okay after all these years?" he asked, as she grinned at him.

"The vault was in the basement, and oh, get this, it had it's own climate control system. They never even knew it was there. It never occurred to them to figure out why they might have an extra heating zone on their bill." She made a hard scoffing noise and changed the subject, "Anyway Sam, the landlord, is right near Mother's so drive there."

As he drove, she went through the rest of the items found in the vault. Most of them had gone home with Leandra, since they were technically hers, but Melissa found herself in posession of much of the old clothes and handbags, since neither Bethany nor her mother had much of a use for them. They pulled up at the Lowtown apartment just as his eyes were starting to glaze over at the descriptions of what Melissa'd received. He was never one for women's fashion, unless he was taking it off of someone.

Sebastian followed Melissa up the outside stairs of an adjoined building with Leandra's, to knock on the landlord's stained and splattered door. A crooked sign on it read "MGMT" in faded letters. "Let me handle this," she said, sotto voce, and then hammered on the door.

"Office is closed," said the man that came to the door. He took a look at Melissa, neat in her red coat and matching leather bag and grinned. She motioned to him to unlock the door, and he did, letting Melissa in. Only through her holding the door was he able to get in, Sam letting his hand fall from it once he actually saw Sebastian. It was apparent to Sebastian that Sam'd made a huge mistake, but he just kept grinning at Melissa like he was trying to impress her. They had to round a slight corner to get into the office proper, and Sam backed up into there as Melissa followed and Sebastian hung slightly back, letting her take the lead.

She stepped into the man's space, making him take a step back and asked in a voice too carefully crafted to sound innocuous to be frosty, "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Gamlen's niece, not the mage, but the genius one up at college."

"That's right, I'm Lady Melissa Hawke. And this is my boyfriend, Sebastian Vael, Prince of Starkhaven," she said, motioning to him. He almost gave away his surprise, nearly flicked his eyes away from the guy she was creeping up on just to see the expression on her face, but he didn't. Melissa walked completely into his sightline, graceful as a lion on the savannah. The man took another step back as she did.

"Well, it's not often we have such distinguished persons in here," the man began, but Melissa cut him off.

"You're Wall-Eyed Sam, and I want you to stop sending my mother and sister eviction notices. In fact, I want you to stop trying to charge them rent altogether and let them live in that disgusting hovel you lease as an apartment, for free for as long as they need it. Your lease was with my uncle, not my mother."

"Which makes her a squatter, I'm afraid," Wall-Eyed Sam said, faux regret making his tone ingratiating. "Even your titles can't be of much help with that."

"And there's a small thing called squatter's rights, of which I'm sure you're aware of as a slumlord that's run up against them in the magistrate's court more than once. But I'm not here to make that case, you're going to do what I said before. It wasn't a suggestion."

"You come in here and make demands and think I'm not going to kick your family out? They've got until the end of the week before I go in and change the locks." Sam gave a nasty, hard laugh, which Melissa answered with her own deadly smile. Sebastian stayed still as he waited for the kick he knew was coming.

"If you go anywhere near my mother or my sister, or even my worthless uncle, I will personally make sure to rain hell down from the Viscount's office on you, you whiny, awful, disgusting excuse of a man. Do not even go there to collect rent, because you aren't owed any. Gamlen forged prescriptions for you. You'd get convicted for dealing at the very least, with all the things he gave you, and I have proof. Now he's sitting in a cell, a silent fool, but don't think that you have the same hold over me," Melissa purred. "Now wish me a good day and walk away from this."

There was a beat of silence, an awful, prolonged moment where a churning mass of emotions warred within him. In his mind Sebastian could almost see his father coming from Starkhaven with a team of lawyers, see the fallout in the gossip columns online and in the papers, but a strange feeling of pride thrummed through him. He'd never seen Melissa like this before. He was afraid too, that she'd overplayed her hand, but then Sam bowed his head and said, "Your family is free to stay, I'll make sure the papers are in order. Good day, Lady Melissa, Prince Sebastian. No hard feelings, eh? I'm just a businessman," and bowed, actually bowed to them until they left.

Sebastian hadn't even realized how angry she was, that's how calm she'd seemed outwardly, until he saw her hand shake as she pushed open the door and it banged against the outside wall as it swung violently ajar. She let it slam behind them, another cracking bang shattering the air around them, but she stomped away as if she hadn't heard the sounds. When they were a few more steps outside she drew in a deep breath, but he knew, he felt it then. There was a tension in her that hadn't been there before, visible in the stiff line of her spine. It made what coiled hotly inside of him seem even more inappropriate, but he couldn't stop himself before he started to speak.

"That was amazing and so weirdly hot. I'm pretty sure I have a boner right now, just from watching you take down that scumbag," he remarked as idly as if he were telling her it was sunny out.

"If you're angling for me to take care of it, I'm afraid I'm all teeth right now," she laughed. Part of him recoiled at the visceral image her words brought, but more, the overwhelmingly large part of him, was even more aroused.

"You're gonna need to sit on my face or something," he muttered, and she laughed, high and clear in the cold air.

She turned to him, smiling from ear to ear and held out her hand. He let himself be pulled into her arms, her bag gently thumping his back at she hugged him, he hugged her back, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo, papayas and honey. He moved to kiss her, surprised that her mouth was soft, yielding, after she'd been so flinty earlier. She tasted sweet as the cold whipped around them, drawing away their combined warmth with cruel, frozen eddies of the salty breeze. Too soon she let him go, breaking away from their kiss with a grin, descending the stairs with a new lightness in her step.

"Come on, let's go get a drink at the Hanged Man. Unless you need to be back at the house?"

"Not at all. I'd love a drink, just so long as we don't have to eat there," he said and she laughed again, triumph making it freer and clearer than he'd ever heard it before.

"We can go out to dinner afterwards. I should stop by and tell Mother the rent is handled, but only if you can keep the particulars of this visit to yourself," she said, stopping on the stairs.

The next set down would take them to Gamlen's apartment, but her gaze was on him. Warm pools of molasses brown eyes were silently begging him not to betray her to her mother, and realization hit him all at once. He'd only been there to back her up if things got out of hand, a legitimate witness. That's why she'd revealed his title to Sam, letting him know that his word was near worthless against theirs combined.

"You've done that before," he said slowly, and she nodded. Her gaze turned away from him, but before her expression set into hardness, he saw shame cross her face. She pushed her sunglasses back down over her eyes to cover them, but it was too late to hide what he'd seen. Sebastian wanted to comfort her, to tell her that he'd been impressed, but he knew she wouldn't take it that well.

"I don't want to talk about it here, but I promise I will."

"Then we should go tell Leandra the good news. It's bloody cold, Liss, let's get out of the elements for a minute so I can regain the feeling in my toes."

#

They left her mother's apartment after just a few minutes reassuring the grateful Leandra that no one would be kicking them out of the apartment. Leandra had been all praise and thanks for them, hadn't noticed how forced Melissa's smile became, or how evasive she was when her mother asked her what she said to Sam. Sebastian stepped in where he could, covering her gaps, giving her space and telling Leandra they had to go before her mother tried to draw them in for an extended visit.

Getting to the Hanged Man was a relief. The praise, though her mother was truly grateful, felt undeserved. She hated playing the heavy, though she'd done it often enough in the past. In Kirkwall and in Ferelden. It was a role she couldn't seem to abandon, despite how much she tried. She sat at the table alone, taking the small window to collect herself. Staring at Sebastian's grey wool coat hanging over the back of the chair, but seeing nothing of it, Melissa made herself focus. She would be calm. Forcing her breath into parasympathetic breathing, she found her center again. She was not a thug, just protecting her family. She was a math student at Tech. She was a good person.

When she turned around, more composed than she'd been earlier, after the crash of the euphoria at triumphing over the pathetic Sam, Sebastian was heading back to the table after waiting at the bar. Melissa let herself slide into more normal thoughts, specifically how nice he looked in his grey suit. He never wore a tie, not that she'd ever seen, but he never looked any less complete for it, just more edgy, sexy. She liked the way he always managed to look at home in a suit, yet utterly like he'd be more comfortable with it off. Sebastian brought their drinks, still giving her the strange look that he'd worn on the stairs outside Sam's office, when he confessed his odd arousal.

"We should have a conversation, _just a conversation_ , about the future," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, taking the beer he held out to her. The cold of the bottle was unwelcome in her frozen hands, and she set it down almost immediately.

He shrugged, suddenly visibly discomfited, as if he regretted starting the conversation but was bound to go through with it. "The future, you know. For you and I."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Melissa put the drink down, looking him straight in the face.

"No! I'm trying to see if you'll marry me, one of these days. Maker's breath, Melissa. You never want to talk about this, but I think we should after today."

"What about _today_ makes you think we should get married?"

"You handled yourself well," he said, deflecting. "I know you held your family together before, but sometimes it's not what you have to do, it's what you have to put up with." He gave a long, pained sigh and went on, "especially if you're with me for the long term."

"And now, today, after I blackmailed a drug dealer, threatened him, and now you think I'm princess material. You're not making fucking sense, Sebastian," Melissa said. She was ready for this conversation to be over. It was her turn to be uneasy, and she tried to hide it by taking a drink of her beer. Marriage seemed like a long way off, but yet she knew it shouldn't be. Her twenty-fifth birthday was just after the new year. By the time her mother was her age, Leandra had been married for years and had three children.

"You're _sweet_ ," he spat out, his mouth twisting unflatteringly on the last word, as it were intended as an insult. "I mean, really sweet, and I love that about you, that you're a good person. You care about everyone. You do things you don't have to do because it's the right thing to do. I never wanted to see that diminished. Part of me wondered if that wouldn't wear on you if it had to be all the time, if the only place we got to be us was in our bedroom. It bothers me, and I've never even tried to live up to it."

"Oh," she said, and looked down into her drink. "I didn't realize that would be part of any future we had together."

"Did you not realize, or did you just not want to talk about it?" he challenged. "I'm not even sure if that's what I want, for myself. I don't know if I can manage it, to be honest. I'm just trying to understand, to have a conversation."

"Sebastian," she started and let herself trail off. "I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of marriage, of being with you forever. That sounds, nice, actually," she admitted, and had to look away from the bright hope in his face. "And I might even like the princess part, even though I know it's a duty. But why can't we just go on the way we are?"

"Because it's going to change, and not planning for change is worse than being thrown into it."

She didn't have an answer to that, because she knew it was true. It was just, marriage, to Sebastian. It was a weighty thought, and he'd just given her more to think about by reminding her that princess wasn't just a nickname, or meaningless title, she'd have responsibilities to go along with it, duties to Starkhaven.

"Hawke!" Varric called from across the room. He gave her a small nod, which she returned with a smile, waiting for him to come up to the table.

"My heart wants to say yes, Sebastian," she said, speaking hurriedly to him. "But just like you have issues, I do too. I'd need to work through them first, because I can't just take that step right now."

"That's better than a no," he said, giving her a smirking smile.

"Hey Sebastian," Varric said, when he worked his way through the taproom to their table. Sebastian nodded back at him, raising his tankard to take another drink so he wouldn't have to talk. They'd only earned time to finish their conversation because someone else had called his attention away momentarily. "Why are you two down here drinking with the proletariat when you could be in my suite?"

"I didn't know you were at home. Wouldn't mind going now," Melissa said and stood up. She picked up her beer and held a hand out to Sebastian, who took it.

They wended through the haphazard maze of ramshackle tables to Varric's room, easily the nicest room in the place. She'd been in here a thousand times over the years they'd known each other, but not as often recently, and Melissa was glad that it was mostly unchanged. Even though the door of the room remained open, most of the noise from the rest of the bar was drowned out. Sebastian looked around interestedly, and she realized that he'd never been in Varric's room before, never saw the majesty of the Merchant's Guild and House Tethras on display. They weren't friends.

"So I heard you got to Wall-Eyed Sam," Varric started, and she laughed.

"Maker, that moved fast. Yes, he was trying to overcharge. Varric order a girl another drink, would you?" she said, sitting down at the massive dwarven table in his room.

"As you command, messere. Another drink for you, Sebastian?" he asked graciously, but Sebastian stood up.

"I'll get them. What can I get for you Varric?"

"Just tell Corff it's for me, He'll know. Put all the drinks on my tab," Varric said. When he was gone, Varric turned to her, "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you said that had him crying in his office?"

"He was threatening to evict my mother and sister. I couldn't have that, so we had a little chat. I was civil. I never once yelled."

"So you made him shit his pants in the course of asking nicely?" Varric asked, an eyebrow arched in eloquent disbelief as he did. She shrugged.

"I am persuasive, what can I say," Melissa answered. Before she had a chance to say more, Varric changed the subject.

"Why are you dressed like you're going to the Chantry to confess some of the really good sins? And he's in a suit. Did I just ruin some proposal?" Varric asked, alarm crossing his face at the thought.

"Proposal?" Melissa gave a snort. Had Varric heard them or had they just looked like they were discussing marriage? It didn't matter, she didn't want to think about it anymore. "No, not at all. If we ever get to that point, let's all hope that the Hanged Man isn't involved. My plan was to go to Kirkwall's least favorite seneschal--"

"--our only seneschal."

"Which makes it a very poor showing by him indeed. But if Sam backed me into a corner, I had more than one card to play. Lucky for him, he folded at the first one."

"Does he," Varric nodded at the bar where Sebastian was accepting three drinks, "know about this completely civil and not at all threatening conversation?"

"He was with me. We need to have our own _private_ conversation about it later, but he was good with it. It was nice to have him there." She stopped short of saying that had it been warmer they might have done more than just kissed outside of Sam's office. He'd been ready for more, she'd felt it, and the memory, combined with the beer made heat flush through her.

Varric laughed, and while it wasn't his completely honest laugh, she heard true amusement in it. "Well I'll be a nug's uncle. You two being a real couple, backing one another up. That's kinda amazing."

"You thought we weren't a real couple? Still?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, does it? But I'm glad, happy for you."

"No, I guess it doesn't matter what you think," Melissa confirmed, just as Sebastian came back. He had the drinks, two in his hands and one that looked like a glass of water caught into the crook of his arm. Melissa took it from him first and then her own drink, letting Sebastian hand Varric his beer.

"Not drinking, Choir Boy?" Varric asked, wry amusement coloring his already dry tone.

"I'm driving and we haven't had dinner yet. I've had one drink, that's enough. How's the dissertation going?" Sebastian asked. He still stood up next to where she was seated at the table, but he was taking off his suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. The hard breadth of his chest beneath the light blue of his shirt made the buttons pull just a little whenever he took of his jacket, and his forearms were just as impressive. Melissa watched as he did, completely missing Varric's answer.

He knew she was watching, and shot her a grin as he sat down. Sebastian's smile, always so bright when he turned it on her, made her feel like jelly. Varric turned to her as he finished speaking to Sebastian and gave her a look, and a mock sigh of frustration.

"Well, you two won't tell me about Sam, but it had to have gone better than the time than how we met Isabela."

"That wasn't so bad," Melissa lied, and then laughed. "Okay, the words, 'what's the worst that could happen?' were uttered, so it definitely was bad."

Sebastian spread a look between the two of them, and Melissa nodded at Varric, letting him launch into the story. Under the table, she put her leg over Sebastian's and he immediately put a hand on her thigh, idly stroking it as Varric recounted the tale.

#

Aveline showed up halfway through the story about how Varric and Melissa met Isabela. Sebastian was laughing too hard to notice her entrance at first, but both Varric and Melissa brightened. The guardswoman was just as Sebastian remembered her from the time they'd run into her at the end of their summer internships, and she recalled him, greeting him by name. She didn't stay long, despite their protests, since she'd just come in to say hi while she was on patrol.

Like Varric, Aveline cast an approving glance over his glass of water. He didn't miss the look she gave Hawke, warning her to indulge moderately. He knew how Melissa liked to drink, and barely caught herself when she was teetering at the edge of pleasantly sloshed and about to be sick. She could indulge if she wanted, but he definitely wasn't going to keep putting them away on a mostly empty stomach and was happy not to drink. If he did, they would have to leave his car in the weird parking lot behind the Hanged Man, and come back for it later, probably tomorrow. Whether it would be there intact in the morning was always a toss up.

They left for dinner after one more story, one that reminded Sebastian that Varric may play at being the dilettante student, but he was a member of the Merchant's Guild, and worked for his brother. He hid his connections well, but Sebastian saw them lining every story, the people Varric didn't mention he talked to, usually to smooth over some problem, the information that just happened to come his way, or unexpected windfalls that Sebastian knew were neither unexpected or unearned.

After dinner, he took Melissa back to the KSE house. She was always warmly welcomed there by his brothers, but it mostly was out a deserve to shuck his suit. She kicked off her heels and then thought better of it, standing them up in a pair near his own. Melissa watched him as he undressed, lounging on his bed. Her hair still spilled over her shoulders in one straight fall like a jet curtain, and she didn't make a move to pull it back even after taking off her lipstick. Sebastian pulled on sweatpants but no shirt, still overheated from wearing suit and jacket for most of the day.

"You never told me where you were this morning," she said.

"My grandparents and I met outside of the city. Our food had just arrived when you called."

"Your grandparents?"

"My mother's side. I never see them much, but they're busy with the vineyard they own in Antiva."

"I forget you're half Antivan," she mused, toying with a stray fabric on his counterpane.

He handed her some of her clothes, the ones that were mixed in with his when he washed the last batch of laundry. "It's why I'm so good with my words."

She laughed, softer and smokier than the one he heard that morning outside of Sam's office, but the feeling it elicited was nearly the same one he had on those steps. She stood up and started taking off her own clothes. He watched her the same way she'd watched him, getting only flashes of skin and underwear as she stripped off her clothes and slipped into the more comfortable ones.

"Did you have a nice visit?" she asked, and it took Sebastian a minute before he could reply. He had to think about it, pulling his thoughts away from where they'd gone when they followed the taut lines of Melissa's thighs.

"It was interesting. I don't know them very well, we only went to visit a few times when I was younger, and then my mom was angry at them for about a decade over something I never really understood. So that about brings us to now, and when I came to Tech and had no one, so I called them. They were hesitant, well, they still are. They don't want to make my parents angry, but whenever they're around Kirkwall on business, I see them. I've been to the vineyard once."

"Why were you outside of the city?"

"They were on business in Cumberland yesterday. They only came here to see me, and there's a restaurant my grandmother favors on the outskirts of town. It's got a good breakfast. We should go sometime."

"What are they like? I've never met any of your family."

"Funny that, they spent the whole time after you called talking about how nice it would be to meet you. Asking questions and generally saying they weren't prying while absolutely trying to pry."

"I'm pretty great, they should want to meet me," she said.

"You are," he agreed, and took a minute to think. "They're very formal, for all that they are animated and passionate whenever they talk about their vines; it's their life's work. Otherwise they're traditional Anitvans in many ways, as much as my mom would like to forget that part of her past. The vineyard does well, but it's promised to one of my younger cousins. My mother isn't the eldest, though I'm their eldest grandchild, but I'm in line for the Starkhaven throne, so they never even thought to offer it to me."

Melissa caught what he wasn't saying, and motioned to him to come sit on the bed with her, where she'd settled back in after changing her clothes. He did, and then put his head in her lap, moaning softly as she started rubbing his head. "You're upset they didn't think of you."

"I shouldn't be surprised," he said.

"You matter to me, Sebastian. I'll leave you everything I have," she said.

"We could just spend our lives together instead. That way if you go before I do, I'll have all those years to look back on," he offered. "But I've been a receptacle for so many drugs, I doubt I'll outlive you."

"You've also been rich your whole life and poverty drastically reduces lifespans, so you're probably still at an advantage. Thank your lucky stars you never grew up trying to lick sap from trees in Ferelden so your stomach wouldn't hurt."

"Did you have to do that?" he asked, rolling out of her lap to look up at her. Sometimes she let parts of her past slip, usually good things about barn dances or growing up or Carver and Bethany, and a few anecdotes about her parents. But every once in a while, the facade would fall and he'd hear about how hard it was, the stories she didn't tell, but still haunted her. He saw those stories in the way she was never late, how she made sure to fill out forms correctly just in case she was denied for incompleteness, and the canned food she kept under her bed for emergencies, the way she had cash hidden in different places so she'd never go without.

 _Without_ had once been her life, but she never shared that burden with him, or let him relieve it.

"I don't want to talk about it," Melissa said, clamming up so completely that her tone invited no prodding. But he did prod, had to ask more.

"What _do_ you want to talk about today? The way you threatened Sam like a professional, or the stories Varric told, or why you don't like marriage? Take your pick."

"I'm going home," Melissa said. She got up in jerky, angry motions, looking around for something before striding over to the chair where he'd folded her clothes with his. She'd worn heels, and he saw her grimace at the shoes near his door.

"What a surprise."

"I just told you I wanted to give you everything I had, but it wasn't enough for you! What else can I do?" she asked, her voice rising.

"Everything but honesty," Sebastian told her, standing up. He walked to his dresser, about to pull out a shirt, waiting to see if he'd really have to drive her home. She wouldn't ask, but he wouldn't make her walk.

"Because _you're_ just such a shining example of being open about your past and the things that you've done. We never talk about anything. It's always avoidance with us, until we can't avoid it anymore. You didn't even say you loved me first, even though you told me that you knew it weeks before I did."

"I'm trying to talk now. You're the one that's leaving!"

"I can't stand to argue with you. You know I hate fighting. What did you think I'd do when you picked a fight with me?!"

"So I screwed up! Again! All I've done my whole life is ruin things!" Sebastian thundered, and he saw her recoil a little from his bellow.

"Stop screaming at me, Sebastian! I didn't ruin your life!"

It took a concerted effort not to yell as he started speaking again, but she was right, he shouldn't yell at her. "Lissa, I fucked up everything I had, rebuilt it, and now I'm graduating from everything I've known for the past few years and you're the best thing in my life, and I'm scared and just trying to keep you with me." He ran a hand through his hair and added, "I still don't know how I haven't managed to ruin this. I'm holding onto it with both hands, trying not to break it. But if you want an itemized list of all the shit that I've done, I can't remember it all."

He saw her draw in a shuddering breath, looking everywhere but him as she started to talk.

"You don't stop being poor just because you have money. It's a mindset, and I want to be with you, but I can't help but worry what will happen in five or ten years when I'm still not comfortable in the life you're supposed to have, and we're just growing apart. I watched that happen to my parents. They loved each other, big, stupid love, but my mother grew to resent that she had to leave her life and opportunities behind and my father was never comfortable when my mother tried to aspire to higher things."

He sank down heavily on the bed, and she came to stand in front of him. Without thinking, Sebastian reached out and hugged Melissa around the middle, pulling her to him. She hugged him back. He looked up at her face where he was pressed against her stomach, and saw her looking down at him.

"He used to say everything was fine so long as we had each other, but love isn't a substitute for everything. It just made me greedy, I think."

"You're not greedy," Sebastian said, tears pricking at his eyes for her pain, "for wanting security or even more than that for yourself."

"Sebastian, you don't ruin everything you touch," she said, taking her turn to comfort him. "And life isn't going to split apart just because it's changing. But you're right, we should plan, and those plans should include what we want from the future."

"I will always work for you, with you, whatever we need," he promised.

She touched his cheek with a finger, drawing her knuckle down the side of it. "I love you so much it feels like my heart might burst with it."

"That's gross, but sweet," he said, and she laughed, the sound of it soggy with tears. He hadn't realized he'd made her cry, and felt the worse for it. "Don't cry, Liss, please. I'm sorry."

"I've always felt like my parents love ruined my mother's life. Like she would have gotten over a broken heart if she'd just given herself time and been practical, but it was up to her to run away from her life, give it all up. She could have gone to law school like she wanted, instead of dropping out and having a baby. They were her choices, and she never said she regretted them, but growing up, I could feel it, her regret, the sorrow. She's so smart, and she wanted things for herself that she gave up for us, and she never got back on her path. If she hadn't married my father, she could have done better for herself, been happier."

"But then you wouldn't be here," he pointed out and she turned away from him, as much as she could while locked in their embrace.

"You know I would die to make Mother happy. It isn't even a question."

He brought a hand up to cup her face, making her turn back to him. "Martyring yourself would definitely not make your mother happy, Liss. That life, her path, it was always her choice. She made it with an open heart and the best of intentions, and that's all we can do sometimes. Like when I tell you when you're ready, I want you in a wedding dress with a special license, because we're definitely doing this."

She laughed again, this time with less tears. "I need to try it before I buy it," she said, leaning down to kiss him. He pulled her into his lap, a hand running up her back as she did.

"You break it, you buy it," he countered and she laughed into his mouth as he kissed her. The henley she had on had a column of cute buttons and he was opening them one by one, exposing more of the creamy, soft mounds of her perfect breasts and covering them in kisses.

The knock on his door jolted them apart, and she slid off of him immediately, leg brushing against the fledgling erection he was sprouting. This just wasn't the day for his dick, all excitement, no action. Sebastian grumbled as he went to open it a crack.

"Hey bro, we're ordering food. You guys finished fighting? You're scaring the freshmen. I got plebs huddling together down the hallway, in tears. Andraste's ass you two, it's like hearing your parents argue," Fabian told him, grinning.

"Sorry about that. We're done. Everything's fine," Sebastian confirmed, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "And we just came from dinner."

"You aren't even going to ask Hawke?" Fabian asked, giving him a hard look.

"You want something, Lissa?" he offered, and looked over to see her pulling her shirt over her head.

"She's not hungry," Sebastian said, sparing Fabian a glance before looking back at Melissa, who was unhooking her bra. With an effort, he turned back to face Fabian, silently willing him to fuck off.

"We're getting Dalish Delights," Fabian called into the room, and Sebastian was saved from answering when Melissa threw her bra at him, hitting him in the side of the head while he was distracted by Fabian.

Sebastian plucked it from his shoulder before it slid down further, and knew what it was from the feeling of lace and satin between his fingers. He looked down at it anyway, his breath catching only slightly as he saw the pale pink fabric he held. It would be rude to slam the door in Fabian's face, so he didn't look over at her, because if he saw her reclined on his bed mostly naked, he was going to shut the door. Fabian realized what had happened and laughed nervously, eyes widening at the sight of Melissa's bra in Sebastian's hands.

"I think she's good," Sebastian remarked, his voice level. "Was there anything else?"

"Nope," Fabian answered, but the door was closed before he even uttered the second syllable of his word. Sebastian was back on his bed in no time, kissing the side of Melissa's neck.

"You mentioned something about wanting me to sit on your face earlier. We should definitely do that, or you know, other things along a similar thread," she said, and Sebastian couldn't help his answering grin. She wasn't ready to let the interruption distract her, pulling him into a kiss as he pushed her back onto the bed. He felt her hands on his chest, trailing up and down his sides as they kissed. She kissed him hard, like she had when he picked her up to go to Sam's early that afternoon, and Sebastian sank into it, closing his eyes and narrowing his world to only the two of them.


End file.
